Almost everyone uses language, so inevitably almost everyone thinks they are an expert in it. I don’t consider myself an expert, though most of my work requires at least language competence and sometimes actual skill, but I do follow the blogs featured on this feeds page.
(If you are wondering where the translation-related feeds have all gone, I have put them on their own page.)
Most of the blogs represented here are in English, most of the time, but don’t be surprised to find other languages used. Go with the flow – I occasionally find myself pleasantly surprised at how much I can grasp in languages I have never seen before.
Language On the Net
Language Log » Selfish
Well, Japan doesn't fall to deliver. I assume that this is meant as something like "individual," in the sense of "self-ish," but whether it's word play or misunderstanding is unclear: 
I'm not sure what kind of imēji イメージ (image") or nyuansu ニュ アンス ("nuance") this store is trying to project, but I doubt that anyone would want to tell their … [Link]
Language Log » Please pee in the pool
Kenneth Yeh sent in this pair of signs from a restroom in China: 
The first sign is straightforward, jìnzhǐ xīyān 禁止吸烟 …with the correct translation: NO SMOKING. It is odd, however, that the second sign declines to provide an English translation, giving only pinyin romanization: Qing xiao bian ruchi 请小便入池 With tones marked and correctly parsed, that would be: qǐng … [Link]
Language Log » Another British-to-English phrase book
"30 Things British People Say And What We Actually Mean" — worth adding to "Translated phrase-list jokes", 5/21/2011. [Link]
Language Log » UM UH 3
[Warning: More than usually wonkish and quantitative.] In two recent and one older post, I've referred to apparent gender and age differences in the usage of the English filled pauses normally transcribed as "um" and "uh" ("More on UM and UH", 8/3/2014; "Fillers: Autism, gender, and age", 7/30/2014; "Young men talk like old women", 11/6/2005). In the hope of answering … [Link]
languagehat.com » God in Four Letters.
I do love a good crackpot — excuse me, I mean premodern — etymology, and Poemas del río Wang has a doozy; the quote is from “the eleven-language dictionary of Calepinus, published in 1590 in Basle, which I happen to have here on my bookshelf” (“I found this bulky folio volume some thirty year ago in a waste paper recycling … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Intern Lunch
A lunch that takes two or more hours. One must be an intern at a corporation, and be insignificant enough to be gone for two hours or longer without being missed in the company. Intern #1: Yo you want to go for an intern lunch? Intern #2: Sure. Should we invite the other intern? Intern #1: Nah, he's actually smart … [Link]
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